{"id":81344,"date":"2025-08-14T10:54:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T10:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan"},"modified":"2025-08-14T11:07:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T11:07:23","slug":"kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials and church leaders said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Richard Matiangi was kidnapped on July 30 after assailants ambushed a vehicle near Bazi, about three miles from Morobo town. The attackers killed his colleague, engineer James Kariuki, before setting the car on fire.<\/p>\n

The two were traveling to Uganda to buy construction materials for Holy Trinity Church\u2019s primary school and parish renovations when the attack occurred.<\/p>\n

Matiangi was released last week alongside four South Sudanese civilians who were also abducted, according to Isaac Batali, chairperson of Holy Trinity Parish in Morobo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were taken deep into the bush\u2014walking for more than seven hours before reaching their destination,\u201d Batali told Radio Tamazuj. \u201cOn 3 August, one of the captors, reportedly a rebel fighter, advised them to escape. They managed to reach Morobo, where they were spotted near the church during prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matiangi has since accompanied Kariuki\u2019s body back to Kenya for burial. Local authorities provided him with travel documents after his were destroyed in the attack.<\/p>\n

Batali did not identify the rebel group that abducted the Kenyan and the four South Sudanese youths. However, several armed groups operate in the area, including the opposition SPLA-IO and the National Salvation Front.<\/p>\n

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.<\/p>\n

Morobo County Commissioner Charles Data confirmed to Radio Tamazuj that the Kenyan engineer had been freed and said security along the road had improved, with movement returning to normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kenyan national was released with four South Sudanese youths after three days,\u201d Data said. \u201cThe government is working to stabilize the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the incident, local interfaith leaders called for civil-military dialogue to improve security.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need stronger relationships between civilians and security forces,\u201d Batali said. \u201cDialogue is the best way to end these conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Road ambushes remain a major challenge in South Sudan, threatening the fragile 2018 peace agreement that guarantees free movement. The attacks have raised concerns over persistent insecurity in parts of Central Equatoria State.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials and church leaders said on Wednesday. Richard Matiangi was kidnapped on July 30 after assailants ambushed a vehicle near Bazi, about three miles from Morobo town. The attackers killed his colleague, engineer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":81343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-81344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"\nKenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-14T10:54:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-14T11:07:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"434\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-14T10:54:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-14T11:07:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\"},\"wordCount\":363,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Sudan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\",\"name\":\"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan - South Sudan\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-14T10:54:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-14T11:07:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials a ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg\",\"width\":768,\"height\":434,\"caption\":\"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/\",\"name\":\"South Sudan\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan - South Sudan","description":"A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials a ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan","og_description":"A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials a ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan","og_site_name":"South Sudan","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-08-14T10:54:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-14T11:07:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":434,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan","datePublished":"2025-08-14T10:54:27+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-14T11:07:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan"},"wordCount":363,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg","keywords":["South-Sudan"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan","name":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan - South Sudan","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-14T10:54:27+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-14T11:07:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"A Kenyan engineer abducted last month by an armed group in South Sudan\u2019s Morobo County has been freed, local officials a ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2025\/08\/sm_1755156931.686656.jpg","width":768,"height":434,"caption":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/kenyan-engineer-freed-after-abduction-in-south-sudan#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kenyan Engineer Freed After Abduction in South Sudan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/","name":"South Sudan","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}